i returned to new orleans after rita hit and after the lower ninth ward had been re-flooded. it was a sunny and hot day and i got into my gaiters and waded through the sludge. it was very quiet and serene save for the helicopters buzzing overhead and i could only imagine the trauma and death that had unfolded over these blocks some three prior. here in the lower ninth ward, the water had flooded rapidly, well above the level of rooftops and there was no place to go. on the ground in post-hurricane new orleans, rumors suggest a death-toll in the thousands for this neighborhood alone. rescue teams had been ordered to pitch corpses into the mississippi. i waded up to my chest solemnly documenting a neighborhood that will soon exist no more.